The original Pokémon generation of Red, Blue, and Yellow Versions made a significant impact all throughout the world when they released on Game Boy in 1998. But even within the original games, as well as the animated series, you saw hints of a second Pokémon game coming. In 2000 (1999 in Japan), the second Pokémon generation was born on Game Boy Color in Pokémon Gold and Silver Versions followed by a Pokémon Crystal Version a year later. These new games introduced 100 new species of Pokémon and included an all new region, the Johto region, that was heavily based off of Japanese culture. Even to this day, this remains as the only mainstream Pokémon game that involves traveling through multiple regions. Many people have played these games and are commonly regarded among the best Game Boy Color games ever made. This generation would later receive a remake in 2010 in the form of Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver Versions on Nintendo DS.
The second generation may be overshadowed by the original that birthed the major worldwide phenomenon, but there are still many secrets within the second generation that are found even to this day. In this article, we will cover 30 things that you may not have known to be factual in any iteration of the second generation of Pokémon. Many of these are glitches that most players would not have discovered on their own, others include special events that are not accessible by normal means.
29 You Could Actually Connect Online With Pokémon Crystal
Believe it or not, Pokémon Crystal is one of the first Nintendo games to actually connect online! The way to do so is a bit complicated as you'll first need a Mobile Game Boy Adapter. These were only released in Japan, therefore, only the Japanese version of Pokémon Crystal can actually utilize the accessory.
Once you are connected, you could trade Pokémon online via your mobile phone, keep in mind Pokémon Crystal released in Japan in 2000.
In addition, you could send an odd egg to someone which would contain a baby Pokémon that knows the move Dizzy Punch, also that Pokémon has a 50% chance of being a shiny Pokémon!
28 Johto Had A Safari Zone After All
The Safari Zone was one of the noticeable locations in Pokémon Red and Blue, and was featured in many other games as well. However, it was unusually absent in Gold and Silver.
However, there actually is a map of what appears to be the Safari Zone in the game's coding.
You can access it through hacking devices, although there is nothing to be found there. It's possible that the bug catching contest might have replaced the idea of a Safari Zone in Johto.
27 Think Status Effects Will Help You Catch Pokémon? Think Again
While the 2nd generation of Pokémon games were arguably the most ambitious of the series, it did have their fair share of bugs.
One of the major ones is that status effects do not affect the catch rate at all.
Normally, putting a Pokémon asleep or paralyzed would make the process a bit easier, but that is not the case in Gold and Silver. It's no wonder why Johto's legendaries were so difficult to catch.
26 Moon Balls Were Not Very Effective
This is more of a reverse psychology entry, something that players may not know they couldn't do. Pokémon Gold and Silver introduced alternate pokéballs that had specific advantages in catching certain Pokémon such as weight, typing, and types of encounters. One of these pokéballs were called the moon ball and it was supposed to be effective on Pokémon that evolve with the moon stone like Clefairy. However, it appears that there was a bug in the game that negated that trait, reducing it to a common pokéball.
25 Pokémon Crystal Trainer Color Swap
Pokémon Crystal Version introduced the option to play as a female trainer for the first time ever in the series. But that is not the only customization option you technically have in Crystal. There is a glitch that triggers if you select a new game, pick your trainer, then start a new game again, picking the opposite gender, then save the game but turn it off as you are saving.
This should change the color of the trainer you picked.
The colors only range from red to blue, but it is a pretty neat glitch that is relatively harmless (unless you deleted a file with progress in the process.)
24 Training Pokémon Where You Caught Them Increases Happiness
Yet another new mechanic introduced in Pokémon Gold and Silver was the friendship level, or happiness, between the trainer and Pokémon. This happiness level would affect certain attacks like Frustration and Return, as well as even being a key requirement for some Pokémon to evolve. However, it can take a while to build trust with certain Pokémon. In Crystal Version, there was a nice little touch to the gameplay that made relationship building a little easier. If you train a Pokémon in the same place it was caught, it's happiness increases a little bit more than normal. Even in Pokémon the saying "There is no place like home" is true.
23 A Bias Towards Pikachu Stat Potential
In future Pokémon games, gender differences were a bit more cosmetic than affecting some gameplay elements. However, in Gold and Silver, there was one noticeable difference between male and female Pokémon. Female Pokémon were unable to have max IVs towards their attack stat, only the male Pokémon could reach their highest potential in attack. The exception to this would be female only Pokémon like Nidoqueen. This would be fixed in later games. It's a strange glitch we're glad they caught and fixed moving forward!
22 Fishing In Cerulean Gym
Sometimes you can catch Pokémon in the most unusual places. One of these places is Cerulean Gym, famous for its water type Pokémon. Because there is water inside the building, you could technically pull out one of your fishing rods and fish there. You can catch Pokémon like Magikarp, Krabby, Corsola, Staryu, and even something as strong as Kingler. The developers actually did not intend for this to happen as you are unable to do this in Pokémon Crystal Version.
21 You Can Play The Beta Version Of Pokémon Gold And Silver!
In recent news, a beta demo for Pokémon Gold and Silver leaked online. This demo was a 1997 beta version that was featured at the Space World event that year. This discovery was quite groundbreaking as it contained numerous Pokémon designs that were scrapped for the final game.
One of the Pokémon that was cut turned into a 4th generation evolution for Eevee, Leafeon!
There were many other discoveries such as an expanded story that was scrapped as it was going on the notion that Gold and Silver would be the last games in the series, but due to its rising popularity, the series would continue further.
20 Get Yourself A Dratini!
Pokémon games can usually be rather charitable for trainers, especially for Pokémon that are not among the featured generation. In Pokémon Crystal, you can earn yourself a Dratini by answering questions from three monks.
If you answer the questions right you'll be awarded a Dratini.
This Dratini will come in handy as it already knows Extremespeed, an attack that allows the user to attack first. Such attack is beneficial for a Dragonite which doesn't have a very impressive base speed stat. It also helps that it knows Thunder Wave as that also benefits slower Pokémon.
19 Obtaining Celebi Without Attending Some Pokémon Event?
Back before Nintendo would offer mythical Pokémon through the mystery gift online or a promotional partnership with your local game stores, getting mythical Pokémon like Mew or Celebi was difficult. You would often have to sometimes travel to large market cities for special events that Nintendo hosted in order to get these valuable Pokémon. Well in Pokémon Gold and Silver, you could trigger an in-game event. It was a Japan-only technique (and never got around to being brought to the west), but if you train two Sneasles with the same exact move set to level 57 and completed a few other tasks, you could net yourself a precious Celebi.
18 Want More EXP? Find Chansey And Blissey
These two Pokémon are among the friendliest, most helpful Pokémon out there. Not only do they heal your Pokémon at Pokémon centers, but they also help them become stronger. In classic (pre-3DS) Pokémon games, experience points earned was based on the HP of the Pokémon you defeat. No other Pokémon had HP like Blissey, racking up over 700 HP at its highest. In addition, you can sometimes find a Miracle Egg from either of these Pokémon that, when held, increases the exp they gain in battle.
17 Use Tri-Attack To Bypass Certain Status Effect Resistances
Certain types of Pokémon are resistant to their own corresponding status effect. Fire types can't be burned, electric types can't be paralyzed, and ice types cannot become frozen.
However, in Gold and Silver, there was a bug that allowed these types to be affected by their own status effect, but it can be done in only one way.
The move Tri-Attack is a normal type attack that fires all three elements of energy at the target, with a small chance of causing any one of the three status effects. Thanks to the bug, that includes possibly burning fire types, paralyzing electric types and freezing ice types.
16 Learning The Truth About Your Rival
Your rival in Gold and Silver actually lives up to his role, unlike most "rival" trainers in recent games just being friends of your playable trainer. He comes off as quite the bully. There isn't much about his backstory in the original games. However, in HeartGold and SoulSilver, there is an event for those with the mythical Pokémon Celebi, which explains a bit of backstory.
Celebi will take you back in time and confirm an interesting fan theory before the remake release.
Your rival is actually the son of Team Rocket Boss, Giovanni! Giovanni abandoned Team Rocket after losing to Red, which is what caused your rival's dislike for the organization.
15 A Powerful Remnant Of Mewtwo
Pokémon Gold and Silver contained an item that is exclusive to just these two games. This item was known as the Berserk Gene.
This was an item that increased your Pokémon's attack power, but would cause confusion during battle.
This item can be found in Cerulean City near where Mewtwo originally lived. Since Mewtwo was not catchable in Gold and Silver, the Berserk Gene served as a reference as Mewtwo went Berserk destroying a research lab.
14 A Haunted House In Olivine City
The ghosts in Lavender Tower in Pokémon Red and Blue left a significant impression on fans even to this day. It would make sense if Gold and Silver capitalized on the spooky element of the Pokémon series. Sadly that never happened, unless you were to hack the game or play an early beta version. It appeared that there was supposed to be a haunted mansion of sorts based on the games' coding. This mansion likely would have featured Misdreavus and would have been located near Olivine City.
13 The Mystery Of MissingNo. Solved
One of the most famous glitches in gaming history was MissingNo in Pokémon Red and Blue. Fans theorized as to what it could but Gold and Silver may have provided an answer if you properly executed an exploit in the Time Capsule. The Time Capsule was used to trade Pokémon from Red and Blue to Gold and Silver. It was named that way as Gold and Silver took place three years after Red and Blue. The exploit mentioned would allow you to trade a generation 2 Pokémon into Red and Blue, but doing so would turn it into a glitched Pokémon.
Looks like MissingNo was actually a Pokémon from Johto after all!
12 You Could Name Your Own Mom
In Pokémon Gold and Silver, the protagonist trainer's mother has a larger involvement compared to the mothers of other games. You can call her on your Pokégear and she can save you some of your money in case you run out. However, she does have a tendency to spend some of your money. What players may not know is that there were initial plans that would allow you to give her a name you chose. This implies that she would have had an even bigger role in the game's story.
11 Use The Bird Type Pokémon!
Pokémon Gold and Silver debuted 2 new Pokémon types into the mechanics of the game. The steel type and dark type were added to balance the game out a little bit, although that mainly applies to the dark type.
However, there was coding hidden in the game for bird type Pokémon.
This coding was also left over in Red and Blue so it might have been accidentally left in Gold and Silver files. There isn't much idea as to what the bird type was, probably a more specific type description for the actual bird Pokémon. I could see it being renamed to the flying type to account for Pokémon like Charizard, who flies, but is certainly not a bird.
10 A Unique Look For Pichu
From the start of the Nintendo DS era of Pokémon games, many special Pokémon were given away online through the mystery gift option. These Pokémon were often mythical Pokémon or even shiny Pokémon in some cases.
In Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, there were two special giveaways for Pichu.
The first is a Pichu that was referred to as a "Pikachu-colored Pichu," but really it was just a shiny, otherwise it would have evolved into a Pikachu-colored Pikachu. The second is a Pichu with an odd spiky ear. These Pichu had their own unique characteristics that could be used in battle, however, the spiky-eared Pichu could not be traded to a different generation game as no other Pokémon game had data files of a spiky-eared Pichu.